Public Health News

June 1, 2024

Top Headlines

Menstrual Periods Are Arriving Earlier for Younger Generations, Especially Among Racial Minority and Lower-Income Individuals

May 29, 2024 — The average age at menarche -- the first menstrual period -- has been decreasing among younger generations in the U.S., especially those belonging to racial minorities and lower socioeconomic ...

Pharmacists Prove Effective, Less Costly Care Option for Minor Illnesses

May 28, 2024 — Greater use of pharmacists to treat minor illnesses could potentially save millions of dollars in health care costs, according to new research. The findings also indicate a way to improve healthcare access by expanding availability of pharmacists' ...

Social Networks Can Influence Perception of Climate-Change Risk

May 22, 2024 — Short but severe episodes of flooding from hurricanes in Texas and Florida triggered a nationwide increase in flood insurance sign-ups depending on how socially connected a county was to the flooded ...

Lung Cancer Study Offers Further Evidence on Importance of Screening

May 21, 2024 — Researchers have demonstrated the benefits of lung cancer screening across socioeconomic groups. Evidence in the new study illustrates the value and importance of screening, especially for those who live in areas of economic ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:05am EDT

Children Struggling at School Entry More Likely to Face Disadvantage at Age 16-17

May 23, 2024 — Children who were behind in their development at age 4-5 were almost three times as likely to have been out of education, employment, or training at ...

Subtle Cognitive Decline Precedes End to Driving for Older Adults

May 22, 2024 — Even slight cognitive changes can affect an older person's decision to stop driving, according to a new study. The findings suggest that routine cognitive testing -- in particular, the kind of ...

Health and Economic Benefits of Breastfeeding Quantified

May 22, 2024 — Breastmilk can promote equitable child health and save healthcare costs by reducing childhood illnesses and healthcare utilization in the early years, according to a new ...

Electric School Buses May Yield Significant Health and Climate Benefits, Cost Savings

May 20, 2024 — Replacing diesel school buses with electric school buses may yield up to $247,600 in climate and health benefits per individual bus, according to a ...

Mothers Live Longer as Child Mortality Declines

May 20, 2024 — The dramatic decline in childhood mortality during the 20th century has added a full year to women's lives, according to a new ...

Study Tallies Heatwave Deaths Over Recent Decades

May 14, 2024 — Between 1990 and 2019, more than 150,000 deaths around the globe were associated with heatwaves each year, according to a new ...

Better Medical Record-Keeping Needed to Fight Antibiotic Overuse

May 17, 2024 — A lack of detailed record-keeping in clinics and emergency departments may be getting in the way of reducing the inappropriate use of antibiotics, a pair of new studies suggests. In one of the ...

Global Life Expectancy to Increase by Nearly 5 Years by 2050 Despite Geopolitical, Metabolic, and Environmental Threats

May 17, 2024 — The latest findings forecast that global life expectancy will increase by 4.9 years in males and 4.2 years in females between 2022 and 2050. ...

New Transit Station in Japan Significantly Reduced Cumulative Health Expenditures

May 14, 2024 — A research team assessed the impact of a train station's opening on health expenditures. The natural experiment study revealed that a new mass ...

The Case for Sharing Carbon Storage Risk

May 14, 2024 — Even the most optimistic projections for the rapid build-out of solar, wind, and other low-carbon resources acknowledge that coal, natural gas, and other fossil fuels will dominate the world's energy ...

Approximately One in Nine U.S. Children Diagnosed With ADHD, as New National Study Highlights an 'Ever-Expanding' Public Health Concern

May 23, 2024 — An exploration into the national U.S. dataset on children ever diagnosed with ADHD has revealed an 'ongoing and ever-expanding' public health ...

Half of Americans Feel Unprepared to Help in a Life-Threatening Emergency

May 22, 2024 — A new survey finds many Americans are ill-prepared to help in emergency ...

Should Your Exercise Goals Be in Minutes or Steps? Study Suggests They Are Equally Beneficial

May 20, 2024 — A new study suggests that both step and time-based exercise targets are equally useful in protecting against early death and cardiovascular ...

Racial Disparities in Childhood Obesity on the Rise

May 15, 2024 — Among public school students in New York City, some of the greatest increases in childhood obesity in recent years were among those socioeconomic and demographic groups already bearing the greatest ...

Mixed Public Opinion on Polygenic Embryo Screening for IVF

May 14, 2024 — Survey reveals nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults support using emerging technology to screen embryos during IVF for risk of developing certain health conditions or traits that arise from more than ...

Team Studies Factors Related to a Sense of Economic Insecurity in Older Adults

May 13, 2024 — Researchers undertook a study of older adults to examine the connection between a sense of economic insecurity and a person's participation in social ...

Study Traces an Infectious Language Epidemic

May 13, 2024 — A computer scientist has shown the power of language to predict harm -- this time to the nation's ...

Discrimination May Accelerate Aging

May 9, 2024 — Discrimination may speed up the biological processes of aging, according to a new ...

More Than 321,000 U.S. Children Lost a Parent to Drug Overdose from 2011 to 2021

May 8, 2024 — An estimated 321,566 children in the United States lost a parent to drug overdose from 2011 to 2021, according to a new study. The rate of children who experienced this loss more than doubled during ...

Childhood Maltreatment Responsible for Up to 40 Percent of Mental Health Conditions

May 8, 2024 — A study has found the widespread impact of child abuse and neglect, with analysis suggesting they cause nearly half of common mental conditions. Researchers say childhood maltreatment should be ...

New Study Finds Increase in Exposures to Synthetic Tetrahydrocannabinols Among Young Children, Teens, and Adults

May 7, 2024 — A sharp rise in exposures to synthetic cannabis products among youth -- some leading to hospitalization -- highlights the need for increased education around the dangers of exposure and increased ...

Past and Guides Future Efforts to Reduce Cancer Disparities

May 6, 2024 — The toll cancer takes on lives in the U.S. has declined during the last 28 years, but not equitably. Disparities persist in many historically marginalized communities -- including communities ...

Companies May Buy Consumer Genetic Information Despite Its Modest Predictive Power

May 2, 2024 — Genetics can be associated with one's behavior and health -- from the willingness to take risks, and how long one stays in school, to chances of developing Alzheimer's disease and breast ...

Understanding Youth Nicotine Use to Prevent Initiation and Escalation

May 1, 2024 — Using multiple nicotine products can be associated with higher levels of nicotine dependence among youth and increased mortality in adults, compared with the use of one product alone. Researchers ...

Life Expectancy in Two Disadvantaged Areas Higher Than Expected

May 1, 2024 — Better than expected life expectancy in two disadvantaged areas in England is probably due to population change according to local residents and professionals. In the UK, people from the most ...

Missing Link in Species Conservation: Pharmacists, Chemists Could Turn Tide on Plant, Animal Extinction

Apr. 30, 2024 — As the world faces the loss of a staggering number of species of animals and plants to endangerment and extinction, one scientist has an urgent message: Chemists and pharmacists should be key players ...

Study Finds School Entry Requirements Linked to Increased HPV Vaccination Rates

Apr. 29, 2024 — A new study shows that school entry requirements are linked to an increase in human papillomavirus (HPV) ...

How Geography Acts as a Structural Determinant of Health

Apr. 26, 2024 — In unincorporated communities in the United States-Mexico borderlands, historically and socially marginalized populations become invisible to the healthcare system, showing that geography acts as a ...

Component of Keto Diet Plus Immunotherapy May Reduce Prostate Cancer

Apr. 26, 2024 — Adding a pre-ketone supplement -- a component of a high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet -- to a type of cancer therapy in a laboratory setting was highly effective for treating prostate cancer, ...

New Study Uncovers Lasting Financial Hardship Associated With Cancer Diagnosis for Working-Age Adults in the U.S.

Apr. 23, 2024 — A new study highlights the lasting financial impact of a cancer diagnosis for many working-age adults and their families in the United States. It shows a cancer diagnosis and the time required for ...